Latest MLB plan to get back on field looks like a winner

In an attempt to salvage as much of the season as possible, Major league Baseball has been leaking one plan after another since early April.

"There will be three, four, five or 10 more before they decide on anything," White Sox TV broadcaster Steve Stone said.

The first plan had all 30 major league teams gathering, training and playing in Arizona.

Logistically, the idea makes sense.

Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, is available, as are 10 stadiums used in spring training. They include Sloan Park, the Cubs' Cactus League home, and Camelback Ranch, which the White Sox share with the Dodgers.

The plan is likely still on the table, but veteran players across baseball made it clear they wanted no part of being holed up in Phoenix-area hotel rooms isolated from their families.

There was also talk of major league teams spreading out in Arizona, Florida and Texas, but the deal-breaking isolation issue still exists there, as well.

Last week, USA Today reported MLB is "cautiously optimistic" the season can get started in late June or early July with teams playing in their own stadiums.

Under this latest plan, there would be three divisions of 10 teams. To keep travel to a minimum, they would be matched up based on geography.

Here's a look at the pairings:

CENTRAL

Cubs, White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers.

EAST

New York Yankees and Mets, Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins.

WEST

Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Texas Rangers, Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners.

The obvious tweak is moving the Pirates to the Central and Braves to the East, but the rest of it looks pretty good.

"I actually like the idea," Stone said on a call from his Arizona home. "It cuts down on travel with the 10 teams in one division, and I love the idea of (the White Sox) being in the same division with the Cubs. I think that's terrific, even though the strange thing is here you have this wonderful rivalry, one of the great rivalries in all of baseball, and you don't have any fans at the game."

Last week, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was asked about baseball coming back.

"Can I envision a world where baseball might return to Chicago this summer? Yes," Lightfoot said. "Is it likely to be without fans? Probably."

Fans or no fans, baseball would be welcomed back with open arms and fully charged TV remotes by a world locked down by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I'm in favor of anything that gets us back to playing baseball," Stone said. "We all realize it's got to be a safety-first scenario. The last thing you want to do is start it back up again, get a positive test and have to shut it back down. That would be fairly disastrous.

"I think the players probably feel the same way. They'd be pretty happy with anything that gets baseball started again. These are young men that play baseball for a living but they would most likely, as I felt, I'd play even if they didn't pay me."

Players have already agreed to take pay cuts for a shortened season, and they do want to get back on the field as long as proper testing is in place.

"You can't get these days back again," Stone said. "You can't get this year back again. For some of the younger players, it might not be as devastating as it would be for some older players. Losing a full season as an older player, sometimes you don't come back with near the skills you had before. I know the workouts and training regiments they have now are far advanced from when I played, but you can't hold Father Time at bay. You can't beat him. He's undefeated and untied."